


Resident 23

by atiny_in_the_neocity



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Gun Violence, Little bit of Fluff, M/M, Mafia AU, Supernatural Elements, tragic past
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:29:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26699050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atiny_in_the_neocity/pseuds/atiny_in_the_neocity
Summary: 127, Dream, WayV make up three different mafia factions in NCity and are fighting for control over an ever changing city. But when Haechan makes his move to join 127 and leave Dream behind the cracks begin to show. Can they keep the balance or was it always destined to fall apart?
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun, Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Lee Taeyong, Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Mark Lee/Nakamoto Yuta, past renjun/haechan
Comments: 11
Kudos: 58





	1. The Catalyst

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is gonna be a little project of mine, I've been working on this for a while and I had to make a few updates with the new members but I am already so excited for NCT 2020! Hope you enjoy this fic and if so please do leave a comment and kudos! See you next week for the next chapter!

There was a strange sort of silence that settled over the city, for a while things had been quiet and everything had been good. NCity hadn’t always been this quiet, in fact, it was usually the opposite, although the mayor did not like to admit it, they had a small issue. A small issue that was or had been fixed. And that small issue was the mafia, or in NCity’s case, mafias. The peace between 127, Dream and WayV had lasted for 4 months now, there was no more fighting, less crime to report and overall sense of balance and it almost looked like things were going to last. That was until Taeyong made his move and stole Mark right from under Renjun’s nose. Now, Renjun appeared to be a cool, calm and collected leader of the youngest group in NCity but if anyone threatened his territory, members or god forbid they got too close to Jeno, Donghyuck or Jaemin, well then they would get to know the true meaning of pain. And so, of course Renjun was ready for a full out war with 127 and specifically Taeyong but that war wouldn’t come. The devastating news arrived, Mark had left on his own freewill, he had betrayed them and joined the enemy. Leaving behind a broken Donghyuck and a shattered unit. 

That was 4 months ago, the peace had since returned and Dream had managed to recruit a new member. For now all was quiet and Renjun could go back to doing what he did best, pine unsuccessfully after his best friend who was far too interested in the guy who had betrayed them.

“Oh my wonderful Junnie.”

Donghyuck called while making his way through the rather large house, he had little idea as to why Renjun needed such a big house and he was about 80% sure that Renjun had bought this house just because it was bigger and fancier than Taeyong’s. Renjun, however, refused to admit this and argued that he needed a big house so that he could protect everyone from harm. 

“For the last time Hyuck, my name is Renjun and not Junnie!”   
  


Renjun called back from the kitchen, he was currently preparing dinner for his members and was so far doing quite a good job at it. He certainly did not need Donghyuck to come in and ruin his plans. But of course, Donghyuck was here and he probably would not leave for hours and so Renjun smiled as brightly as he could muster when Donghyuck walked into the kitchen. 

“I spoke to Mark today….”

Donghyuck blurted out when he stepped into the kitchen, it took a while for these words to settle and the silence between the pair grew. Renjun knew what this meant, speaking to Mark meant speaking to the enemy but more importantly, speaking to Mark, who Donghyuck had had a crush on for years, meant the possibility of losing Donghyuck. Renjun just couldn’t afford to lose his second in command. 

“You spoke to the guy who betrayed us because of your stupid feelings towards him! What did I say about this Donghyuck?!”

Renjun snapped harshly, putting the knife back down on the board and gently wiping his hands on his apron. He moved closer to Donghyuck, who took a small step back towards the door. He had known this news was going to piss Renjun off and he did have a plan to tell Renjun but of course that had just gone out of the window. 

“You told me not to but Junnie-”

Donghyuck was cut off but not by Renjun who was still trying to process what was happening. 

“My my, little Renjun, haven’t you grown up so well.”

Taeyong effortlessly glided into the room, it was one of those things that had always bothered Renjun, why did this man in particular have to be so gifted at everything that he did? Renjun instead of saying this decided to go for the glare approach which really was not that successful at all. 

“You know you really do need better security, anyone could just walk straight in and do whatever they liked to you and none of your little babies would be any the wiser.”

Taeyong added with a smile, the sort of smile that had that scary dangerous glint to it, the sort of one that screamed for your attention and was yet another Renjun despised about this man. Renjun stepped back towards the counter and quickly picked up the knife only to realise that he hadn’t stepped back against the counter but back against a warm body. 

“Drop the knife Renjun.”

Jaehyun whispered into his ear while pressing a similar sort of knife against Renjun’s neck, of course Taeyong had brought his guard dog with him. It was honestly like they couldn’t stand to be apart for more than five minutes which in any other situation would be sickenly cute but right now it was more of an annoyance. Renjun slowly dropped the knife onto the floor and tried his best to look as calm as humanly possible. 

“Now now, let’s get down to business, I’m just here to collect Hyuckie. Didn’t you hear he’s coming to join us? Doesn’t want to be a part of the play group anymore, wants to come and be a real man.”

Taeyong cooed in the most condescending voice ever but none of that mattered to Renjun. Slowly and carefully due to the knife on his neck, Renjun turned to look at Donghyuck who was now staring at the floor. Renjun could not hide the look of betrayal on his face, he had expected Mark to leave but never in his wildest dreams had he expected Donghyuck to leave. Donghyuck, his best friend, his partner in crime and once in the past there had been something more. But of course, Renjun had always placed in 2nd and Mark had always come in first in Donghyuck’s eyes. 

“I’m sorry…”

Donghyuck whispered so softly that it was nearly not heard and the sound itself was what broke Renjun’s heart. Donghyuck sounded so broken, so lost and so sad that all Renjun could do was whisper it’s okay back. Despite the fact that Donghyuck had betrayed him, Renjun could never hurt him. 

“Let go of Renjun now.”

A voice from just outside the kitchen broke the tension, Taeyong quickly whipped around to see where it was coming from and was surprised to suddenly be face to face with the muzzle of a gun. Jeno, Renjun’s little guardian angel, was staring at Taeyong with a new intensity that Renjun had never seen before. It was the sort of look that only Jeno could pull off, the way that he showed that he cared for Renjun like no one else could. 

“Oh my, if isn’t Renjun’s prince in shining armour. Ahh Jeno you’re so predictable and if I had wanted to hurt any of you, you’d both be dead right now.”

Taeyong replied back in a rather calm voice for the situation they were in, Jeno faltered slightly but one look at Renjun and the look of uncertainty had disappeared. But there was something else in that look and suddenly Renjun knew what Jeno had meant.

“But you’re also so predictable Taeyong, I knew if you ever turned up here you’d bring Jaehyun, threaten Renjun and think you had the upper hand. You really think I’m the only one who loves Renjun more than words could possibly ever say?”

Jeno spoke in a slow, meticulous manner while keeping his eyes trained on Taeyong in front of him who was trying to digest what on earth Jeno could mean. Of course Jeno would pick the absolutely worst time ever to confess his feelings to Renjun and all Renjun could do was sigh. Then suddenly a small red dot appeared and floated through the room until it landed right on Jaehyun’s forehead. Taeyong knew he was screwed then and so he motioned for Jaehyun to let go of Renjun. 

“Don’t worry your little head Jeno, I wasn’t going to hurt Renjun. We’ve declared our business and know if you don’t mind telling Jaemin to back down, we’ll leave.”

Taeyong replied as soon as Jaehyun let go of Renjun who faltered slightly before straightening himself up as if nothing had happened. Jeno, on the other hand, did not falter at all and kept the gun in his hand directly pointing at Taeyong until Renjun gave him the nod. Only then did he put the gun down and whistle to alert Jaemin that everything was now under control. 

“Thank you.”

Taeyong spoke curtly while making his way back towards the main door, Jaehyun followed behind him at a similar sort of pace but Donghyuck froze for a second and it almost looked like he had changed his mind. Renjun so hoped that he had but then Donghyuck turned and soon he was gone. Renjun felt as if time had frozen, it was all over, everything he had worked for, all the time spent and all of those feelings he had wasted. It was all for nothing. Absolutely nothing. 

“Jun….” silence. “Injun…” still no response. “Junnie baby, come back to us.”

It was only then that Renjun managed to snap out of it, he slowly blinked and was met with the sight of a very concerned Jeno and Jaemin. The pair of them had been best friends since birth practically, they did everything together and somehow they both were completely enamoured with Renjun. Renjun had no idea why, together Jeno and Jaemin were a complete unit, they didn’t need an extra wheel but for some unknown reason they had never given up on Renjun. Even though they knew Renjun was still so in love with Donghyuck. Even if Renjun never loved them in the same way they loved Renjun, they would still fight the whole world to make sure the smaller Chinese male was okay. 

“He left me.”

Renjun whispered softly, a frown taking its place on his face where his smile would usually be. Jaemin looked like he was already three steps into his plan to kill Donghyuck for hurting his precious Renjun whereas Jeno had that look on his face. The one where he didn’t quite know what to say so instead he’ll try to show just how much he cares. Renjun shook his head slowly, he could not allow himself to get into a bad headspace right now. 

“You know what, that’s it. I’m not letting Taeyong walk all over me anymore, he needs to learn not to mess with us.”

Renjun suddenly said with a new found determination, Taeyong needed to know that Dream was not as soft and sweet as everyone thought but a unit that was to be feared. After all, it wasn’t like any of them could ever die, the perks of being young forever as they say. Jeno and Jaemin shared a look but ultimately agreed that whatever Renjun wanted to do, they would follow. 

“Go get Sungchan, Chenle and Jisung, we need to have a meeting.”

Jaemin nodded and left the room quickly in order to find their youngest members, he knew that leaving Renjun with Jeno was probably the best bet right now. Jeno was so in tune with Renjun and probably could provide way more comfort than Jaemin could. And to be honest, Jaemin was fine with that. 

\----

A little while later, Kun had just checked over a shipment coming in from China at the docks and was on his way to inform his darling Ten when he was met with the one person he really did not want to see right now. Lee Taeyong, leader of 127, tormentor of the darling Dream children and of course he was also Ten’s ex. 

“What on earth could you possibly want?”   
  


Kun snapped rather harshly, it wasn’t like he had ever tried to hide his feelings towards Taeyong, the man was the devil incarnate and really he had an issue with coming to persistently annoy the living daylights out of Taeyong. 

“I took Donghyuck from Renjun, he joined 127 today so I think you know what that means.”

Taeyong said playfully and yes Kun did know what that meant, that meant that Renjun was going to stop at nothing to bring Taeyong down and well why on earth would Kun stop him. In his opinion getting rid of Taeyong would not only be a benefit but also do the world a huge favour. 

“So that means you’re in danger and for some reason you’ve come to me for help even though you know that I would absolutely do literally anything else. I do hope Renjun has a wonderful death planned for you.”

Kun side stepped Taeyong and continued down the alleyway towards the warehouse where he was supposed to be meeting Ten. However, what was slightly weird is that Taeyong said nothing in response and simply followed Kun. In all honesty, Kun should have known there was more to Taeyong’s plan, he should have realised that Taeyong gave in too quickly. Because as soon as he walked into the warehouse he was met with the sight of his beloved Ten tied to a chair and unresponsive. 

“LEE TAEYONG!”

Kun bellowed as loudly as he could, turning to stare at the man in question while pulling his gun out of his holster. Just as he did that, Kun heard the unmistakable sound of several other guns being pointed in his direction. Kun was too enraged to care, they could kill him if they wanted to but they were not going to hurt his Ten. 

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, Tennie is okay. He’s just taking a little nap, we just needed to make sure what side you’re on Kun.”   
  


Taeyong explained with a small smirk decorating his face especially when he saw the look on Kun’s face. He knew this plan would work, he knew how angry Kun would get if he so much as touched Ten and therefore he knew that Kun would do anything to make sure that Ten was safe. 

“You’re so fucked Lee Taeyong, so utterly fucked.”

Kun uttered softly, slowly placing his gun onto the floor so that the rest of 127 could back off which they did after Taeyong gave them a signal. He slowly looked around, nodding politely to Yuta, Jungwoo and Mark but completely ignoring everyone else. Yes, he got on fine with 127 but he didn’t spend that much time with a lot of them. 

“I think you’re the one that is fucked Kunnie.”

Taeyong replied back while raising one of his perfectly styled eyebrows, it was if he had no idea what Ten was capable of, he had kept Ten in a cage for so long that he had forgotten what Ten used to be like. And well it looked like he needed a reminder. Kun walked over to Ten, kneeling down in front of him and gently placed a hand on his thigh. He ignored the fact that Jaehyun had moved closer to him as if he was going to stop him. It would be too late anyways. 

“Ten, let go for me. Get us out of here.”

For a few moments it was like Ten hadn’t heard him and nothing was going to happen, Kun could hear Jaehyun letting out a sharp bitter laugh and he could almost feel Taeyong rolling his eyes. But then the ground began to shake, hardly noticeable at first but soon Kun couldn’t even stand anymore. And yet he held onto Ten, he trusted this man more than anyone so no matter what happened he knew he was going to be fine. Then it all went black. 

_ Resident 23, half angel, half human, destined to protect the human race from extinction and punished to spend his entire life on earth for no halfling belongs in the glory of heaven. Protect resident 23 at all costs. _


	2. You Never Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we go Chapter 2!! Hope you enjoy this update and again kudos and comments are appreciated! See you all next week for the next update.

“Kun….Kunnie...please baby wake up…”

A familiar voice filtered through the darkness and slowly Kun began to stir, the warehouse came back to life and so did Ten who was currently hovering above him. Kun let out a small groan which altered Ten that he was in fact alive, Ten let out a small laugh and hugged the older male close to his chest. Kun couldn’t help but join in with the laughter while wrapping his arms around Ten and that is where they stayed for a moment. Of course this moment had to be interrupted by Taeyong who had also managed to wake himself up.

“Oh Tennie, I would so hate to break up this beautiful moment. ”

Kun whipped around to look at Taeyong but it was too late, Taeyong had already pulled out his gun and the unmistakable sound of a gunshot echoed through the warehouse. Kun desperately tried to move them out of harm's way but it was just no use, they didn’t have enough time. But when Kun didn’t feel the bullet enter his back and Ten looked fine, he became more and more confused. That was until he turned around to look at Taeyong and was met with the sight of startlingly beautiful white wings. That’s when Kun noticed the small hole in the corner of one of his wings and the pained grimace on Ten’s face. Kun reached out to place a hand on Ten’s cheek pulling his attention back to Kun instead of his injury. 

“Hold on tight baby.”

Ten whispered softly, placing the softest of kisses on top of Kun’s head before pushing himself up and before Kun could even register what was happening, Ten had managed to lift them both into the air and fly out of an opening in the roof. No one saw that coming.

\----

Ten faltered slightly as they got closer to their destination, he nearly dropped Kun at one point and since then he had been whispering small apologies to which Kun replied with kisses. However, when they got to their destination, Ten collapsed onto the doorstep with a very pale white face and before Kun could even whisper Ten’s name, Ten had fallen into unconsciousness. Normally, Kun would be extremely worried about this but after the day that Ten has had it wasn’t a totally unexpected reaction. So, Kun got up off the floor, knocked on the door before carefully picking Ten up into his arms. 

“Kun?”

Renjun was now extremely confused as to why the leader of WayV was now on his doorstep with a passed out half angel in his arms. Yes, this morning had been rather unexpected but he had certainly not expected this at all in the slightest. Kun offered a half shrug in response and Renjun just simply opened the door wider. 

“I will need an explanation at some point.”

Kun nodded but made a gesture as if to ask where on earth he could put Ten down, Renjun shook his head but gently directed Kun to the living-room. Kun gently put Ten down, surprised at the fact that Ten had managed to hide his wings before anyone could see but Kun pretended nothing was wrong and gently placed his boyfriend onto the couch. After Ten was settled, Kun turned to look at Renjun who was furiously talking on the phone with someone.

“Nana!! Get back here now!! I swear to god you better be okay!!”

Renjun made eye contact with Kun and hung up the phone before making his way down to the living room. He walked over to a cupboard and pulled out a blanket before making his way over to Kun, handing the blanket over to the older male so that he could place it over Ten. Kun did this gently, placing a soft kiss on Ten’s forehead before turning back to Renjun.

“Taeyong cornered us, tried to force my hand and yeah we got hurt a bit but I’m here Renjun, I’m here to give you my alliance. WayV will stand with you.”   
  


Renjun took a few moments to let this settle in his head before sinking into the sofa opposite Ten, Kun walked over slowly and sat down next to him. To make this easier, Kun held out his hand to Renjun, if Renjun shook his hand then the alliance would be confirmed but if he didn’t shake his hand then Kun would have come here for nothing. 

“If you want to be on my side hyung, then I’m in charge.”

Renjun spoke slowly, looking down at Kun’s hand and then back up at the elder male who only faltered slightly. Kun had expected this, in fact he would not have expected anything else from Renjun. And yet he was still here, someone had to stop Taeyong ruling all the land, someone had to force Taeyong to behave and Renjun stood a very good chance. 

“You’re in charge. I’m just here to help.”

Kun stated still holding his hand out to Renjun who slowly placed his hand into Kun’s, they only shook once before separating again. 

\----

_ Some years earlier _

_ Renjun had been alone all of his life, his parents had died at an early age, he had lived with his grandmother who had died when he was 11 and the many foster parents he had since then had been too frequent. Friends weren’t really a thing either, he had moved around way too much to have any friends. And if he had no friends then he certainly had never had a lover. Well Renjun had a small secret, that secret being that he had little to no interest in females or finding a wife. In fact, Renjun much preferred the company of men amongst other things.  _

_ And that is how he found himself walking around town late at night in a short black skirt, fishnets and his favourite black boots. This was probably one of Renjun’s most flashy outfits, he didn’t really have the courage to wear anything more revealing. Renjun was already feeling so nervous while walking back to his rooms, it was dark and he was alone. This was a recipe for disaster and so he tried to walk as fast as he possibly could.  _

_ It was only two minutes later when Renjun felt a presence behind him, he froze for a second, it was happening. He had been warned so much about this and yet here he was. Renjun picked up the pace again, he was so close to being behind a locked door, in fact he could almost see his door. It was this that managed to distract him enough to not notice another man round the corner and stop right in front of him. Renjun let out a loud squeal when he walked into the man, a hand was immediately placed over his mouth and he was pulled into the alley next to his building. Renjun was too scared to even struggle, he didn’t want to give up but he knew where this was going and he knew he was powerless to stop it.  _

_ It was all over in half an hour, the men left Renjun bleeding in the alley with tears staining his face and half naked. Renjun couldn’t even move, there was nothing he could do and so he accepted the fact that he was going to die here. Suddenly a shadow appeared out of the darkness and a new man appeared in front of him. Renjun immediately cowered and wished that it would all just stop. That was when it all went black. It was all going to be different from here on out.  _

\----

“Jaemin omg!”

Renjun snapped out of his trance and immediately jumped out of the couch and into Jaemin’s arms when the front door opened. Renjun checked over Jaemin’s face and was pleased to see that the younger male was alright. Suddenly the front door opened again and in came the rest of Dream pointing guns at the rest of WayV. Renjun sighed loudly and motioned for Kun to come and join him so that Dream could get the message. 

“They are our allies so please stop pointing guns at them.”   
  


Renjun said slowly letting go of Jaemin to hug Jeno before nodding to the rest of his members, he watched Kun check over his members before stopping at the last guy. It took Renjun a moment to notice who it was and immediately he pulled out his gun again. Sicheng was a member of 127 so what on earth was he doing here with them? 

“Renjun please put your gun away, Sicheng is one of us. He was spying on 127 for us.”

Renjun had to admit that this was very smart and almost hit himself for not thinking of this idea earlier. To prove his point, Sicheng pulled down his shirt to reveal the V on his collarbone and so Renjun slowly lowered his gun. Right now though, there were too many people in his entrance hall and so he walked through to his office dragging poor Kun with him and closed the door sharply behind him. Time for some planning. 

\----

_ Renjun woke alone in his bed the next morning, his head was hurting but apart from that Renjun felt physically fine. Slowly, he climbed out of his bed and made his way towards the mirror in the corner of his room. Weirdly there were no injuries on his body, he lifted up his shirt just to check but again there were no marks or scars where he had been stabbed last night. In fact, Renjun couldn’t be sure that he was stabbed. The events of last night were like some sort of weird blur in his mind.  _

_ That is when he noticed the note on the bedside table, Renjun slowly picked it up and read through the contents of the short note:  _

_ Hi,  _

_ I helped you back to your room last night, I know you may have so many questions about what happened last night and I will answer all of these tonight. For now, I left breakfast in your kitchen, please do not freak out.  _

_ See you tonight _

K 


_ Renjun put down the note slowly, he had no idea what this mysterious stranger meant but he was going to try and start to figure some things out. And that started with breakfast. Renjun made his way down the stairs and into the small kitchen. On the table there was a bottle of red liquid and another note:  _

_ Yes this is blood, just trust me you will need this.  _

_ Renjun did not trust this at all and so he made the mistake of ignoring the bottle and made his own breakfast. The only problem with this plan was that as soon as Renjun tried to take a small bite of his eggs, his stomach lurch and then he found himself with his head over the toilet. At this point, Renjun decided to trust this stranger and slowly he drank the contents of the bottle.  _

\-----

“So how do Renjun and Kun know each other?”

Jeno asked as soon as the door to the office closed, everyone else simply shrugged and he figured this was probably going to be the only good response he was going to get out of anyone. And so he whispered to Chenle to take care of WayV and make them comfortable enough before dragging Jaemin upstairs with him. 

“Wanted me all to yourself Jen?”

Jaemin said with a wiggle of his eyebrows, Jeno rolled his eyes at this but gave in and placed a soft kiss on Jaemin’s lips. Jaemin melted into the embrace, gently placing his hands on Jeno’s shoulders and smiling when he felt Jeno wrap his arms around Jaemin's waist pulling him closer. It had been a while since they had the time to just be with each other in an environment that wasn’t sexual. 

“I missed us Nana.”

Jeno whispered after a moment when Jaemin tucked his head under Jeno’s, nuzzling closer and letting out the softest giggle. It really had been a long time since they had a moment like this, it had either been quick sex, focusing on Renjun or just pure exhaustion. Jeno had to admit that loving Renjun was becoming very exhausting. He wondered if the elder would ever love them in the same way or if it was always doomed to fail. 

“I know, me too.”

Jeno knew that Jaemin not only meant that he missed these moments but also that he too felt emotionally exhausted. He had no idea what to do though, the more time he spent with Renjun the more he fell in love and yet he was still so in love with Jaemin. He guessed that if he ever had to pick then it would always be Jaemin. 

“Oh-”

A small voice spoke from the doorway, the couple whipped around and was met with the sight of Renjun with tears running down his face. Almost immediately, the couple let go of each other and surrounded Renjun with their warmth. Renjun let out a small giggle then, gently placing his head on Jeno’s shoulder and intertwining his fingers with Jaemin’s. 

“I was just coming to say that I….” Renjun paused and looked between both of them. “If you still love me and want me, I want to give us a try. I might not be in love with you in that way both yet but you both mean the world to me and yes I know one day I will be able to tell you I love you.”

Jeno looked at Jaemin who nodded slowly and the pair placed two soft kisses on both of Renjun’s cheeks, a silent promise that they would always be willing to wait for Renjun. He was everything they needed to complete them. 

\---- 

_ Renjun was still sitting at the dinner table staring at the wall when the mysterious stranger walked back into his house. He hardly moved as if he hadn’t spotted that someone else had joined him.  _

_ “Hi there, I’m-” _

_ Was all this stranger could get out before Renjun turned to look at the stranger and the look on his face immediately got the man to quieten. Renjun got up slowly and placed the bottle in front of the man before telling him to sit which he did slowly.  _

_ “I’m a vampire now, aren’t I? I’m dead?” _

_ The man nodded slowly, looking down at the floor as if he was not ready for this conversation to happen. Renjun sighed loudly, he had already worked this out but the confirmation just made it so real. He was actually dead, he was never going to feel alive again, he was going to live forever practically.  _

_ “Last night you were dying, they hurt you in such a way that I couldn’t just leave you there. I knew you still had fight left in you. I wanted to give you a second chance.” _

_ The stranger spoke slowly, looking up at Renjun for the first time and Renjun simply took the bottle back, placing it in the bin before washing his hands. The man picked up the bag he had been holding and placed it on the table, Renjun opened the bag slowly and of course there were more bottles inside.  _

_ “Don’t worry it’s just animal blood but if you want more after this then I have a small requirement but we’ll speak about that later.” _

_ The stranger added to which Renjun raised an eyebrow, what on earth could this requirement be and why couldn’t he just tell him now? Before he could ask any of these questions, the stranger walked back towards the door, he paused and turned around.  _

_ “My name is Kun by the way.” _

  
  



	3. Can’t Get Over You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! So chapter number 3!! And omg we’re so close to NCT 2020 now, super excited!! This chapter is mainly a bit of backstory on Sicheng so I hope you enjoy. Kudos and comments always welcome. See you next week.

_ Sicheng was staring at himself in the mirror, the V on his collarbone was almost mocking him and he wondered if he had even made the right decision. He knew that he was the only one that could actually pull this off, no one else that had the right connections or skills. And yet he still doubted himself. Something about this just did not feel quite right and yet here he was ready to start a new journey.  _

_ “Sicheng? You ready?” _

_ A voice appeared as if from nowhere, startling Sicheng slightly and he quickly moved away from the mirror and towards the door. He paused when he passed Kun, who had come to check on him, and smiled slowly.  _

_ “Born ready.” _

_ Sicheng replied back before picking up his coat and exiting the room. He wasn’t coming back anytime soon but there was no time for goodbyes. Hopefully he would see them all again one day. If everything went according to plan.  _

\---

“Sicheng?”

Ten’s voice snapped him out of his trance, the memories momentarily forgotten and Sicheng plastered on a fake smile as if Ten would not be able to see through this. Sicheng knew that Ten was probably the only person that could actually understand his situation and yet he still did not know if he was ready to share. 

“I know something is different about you now and I know that look. I’ve been there before and believe me it never ends well, you deserve better than him.”

Sicheng frowned for a moment as if he had no idea what Ten was talking about, but of course he knew. Of course Ten had managed to work it all out. It wasn’t like he had ever been good at hiding anything from his friends and yet this was something he had been wanting to hide forever. Sicheng let out a small sigh, hiding his face in his hands and turning away from Ten. 

“Does he love you Sicheng?”

Ten whispered softly, gently placing a hand on Sicheng’s shoulder in a small attempt to comfort the younger male. Sicheng shrugged, he honestly did not know whether or not his feelings were reciprocated. Taeyong had always been hard to read. 

\----

_ “Everyone welcome Sicheng to our ranks!” _

_ Taeyong shouted as a cheer over dinner and suddenly Sicheng was lifted out of his chair and thrown up into the air a few times. He could not help but let out a small laugh, he wasn’t really here to enjoy himself but so far he had been having nothing but fun. A small sense of guilt suddenly ran through him, his loyalty was WayV and yet here he sat.  _

_ “It’s a pleasure to have you with us, angel.” _

_ Taeyong added when Sicheng was placed back on his feet right in front of the leader, Taeyong took Sicheng’s hand and placed a soft kiss on it before slowly letting go. Sicheng could not help but blush, there was just something about having all of Taeyong’s attention on you that sent the butterflies in his stomach into uproar. There was a small cough from beside Taeyong and Sicheng turned his attention to none other than Jaehyun. Taeyong’s boyfriend. And yet Taeyong seemed annoyed that Jaehyun had interrupted their moment and the glare he sent in Jaehyun’s direction was anything but loving.  _

_ “Come with me, let me show you around.” _

_ Taeyong quickly said to break the tension that had settled, Jaehyun tried his best to stop Taeyong and even Dongyoung chimed in to say that wasn’t what Taeyong was supposed to be doing and yet Sicheng found himself walking alongside Taeyong as he went through everything 127 were doing. In half an hour, Sicheng had enough information to bring down 127 easily and yet he did not want to leave just yet.  _

_ “Am I crazy to trust you so easily? There’s just something about you that drives me insane.” _ _  
  
_

_ Taeyong whispered after a moment of silence, turning to face Sicheng and that was when Sicheng realised how close they were. They had just met and Sicheng was already falling for Taeyong and fast.  _

\-----

“You should already know. Taeyong is like a magnet, you just can’t help but fall at his feet.”

Sicheng replied back with a small pout decorating his face, Ten nodded before sighing and shuffling closer to hug Sicheng tightly. Ten definitely understood what it meant to fall for someone like Taeyong. It was an experience that Ten was glad that he was through. But he wished that he could understand what Taeyong was up to. Was Taeyong over Ten? Was Taeyong in love with Jaehyun or was he really in love with Sicheng? 

“I totally understand. He always made it so easy to fall in love with him and for a while it felt like I would never need anything else but him.”

Ten replied softly, humming in thought, it was a good job that everyone else had left otherwise this conversation would not have been possible. A few moments of alone time together and they were already talking about the enemy but in a much more loving way. Kun would hate this conversation, he had forbidden Ten from talking about Taeyong when they first got together and still rolled his eyes whenever Taeyong was mentioned. 

“It’s nice to have someone to talk to about this.”

Sicheng whispered after a moment of silence and he was right, it was amazing to finally have someone to talk to about this and it was even better having someone who understood what it actually felt like. Ten smiled and nodded, slowly falling back into bed and gently patting the space next to him so Sicheng could come and lie down. 

“Tell me everything, I wanna know the story.”   
  


Ten asked when Sicheng was finished making himself comfortable and so Sicheng dived into the story. 

\---

_ It was only a few days later when it happened. It wasn’t like Sicheng had been avoiding Taeyong, that would be an impossible task but every time that he had bumped into Taeyong, Sicheng had managed to drag someone else into the conversation so they were never alone. Sicheng was here to complete a task and that was it, there wasn’t any time for whatever was happening between him and Taeyong. In fact, there was nothing between them.  _

_ This is what he had been trying to tell himself for weeks on end, it was only half true in the sense that they had only just met really and yet Sicheng was already so drawn to Taeyong. He tried to blame this all on Taeyong, he was just his type and well Sicheng couldn’t lie to himself, he really wanted Taeyong. Sicheng knew it was a problem of his, he always fell in love too fast and it never ended well.  _

_ “You’re avoiding me.” _

_ A voice broke Sicheng out of his thoughts, the voice belonging to the one man that Sicheng was desperately trying to avoid. Taeyong walked into Sicheng’s bedroom with an air of grace that Sicheng envied so much. He stopped when he was right in front of Sicheng and Sicheng was successfully backed into a corner.  _

_ “N-no….d-definitely….n-not.” _

_ Sicheng tried to say but it came out as a small whisper while looking down at the floor, Taeyong placed one finger under Sicheng’s chin and lifted it gently. Once they made eye contact, that was it. Sicheng could lie and say that he did not remember how he ended up in bed with Taeyong moments later but he still remembers every little detail. He just can’t shake the feeling.  _

\---- 

“Wait, you slept with Taeyong?!”   
  


Of course at this moment of the story was the perfect time for Kun to come and join them, Sicheng sighed loudly and shuffled in an attempt to get off the bed and escape. But of course Ten held him back and he was forced to look Kun in the eye as he nodded slowly. He had never really felt shame for what he had done until now. Taeyong had Jaehyun and Sicheng had no one. What had he done? 

“It was much more than that but yes I have been sleeping with Taeyong for months now.”   
  


Sicheng said in a quiet voice, fiddling with his fingers and avoiding eye contact with literally anyone in the room because of course as Kun shouted the rest of WayV ran in the direction of the voice and now Sicheng’s little secret was out. There was a few little gasps but mostly silence which was somewhat worse than what Sicheng had imagined this conversation to be. 

“That explains a lot.”

Lucas spoke up, shaking his head before leaving the room with Yangyang in tow. Yangyang had a small problem with following Lucas around, a problem meaning a small crush and it was honestly endearing at times. Sicheng looked up and made eye contact with Dejun who gave him the sort of smile that said ‘I’m sorry’ which did not fill Sicheng with confidence. 

“I knew there was a reason why we sent you.”

Kun said with a small smirk and immediately Sicheng knew something was wrong, Sicheng scrambled to get off the bed before Kun could leave the room. He gently grabbed Kun’s wrist and turned him around and the panic just grew. 

“Where is Taeyong?!”

Sicheng felt like he was going insane, there was obviously something wrong but he couldn’t quite place his finger on it until he heard a groan from downstairs. Sicheng sprinted down the stairs as fast as he could and the sight he was met with broke his heart. 

\--- 

_ Sicheng was never the type to sleep with anyone who already had a partner and yet he kept crawling back to Taeyong and he knew that Dongyoung knew. He just wondered if Dongyoung had told Jaehyun yet. It also did not help that Taeyong was getting braver, instead of trying to hide his affection for Sicheng, he now openly placed kisses on Sicheng’s cheeks and even went as far to kiss Sicheng on the lips whenever Jaehyun left the room. So yes, all of 127 now knew that the new guy was sleeping with the boss.  _

_ “Sicheng…...I think we need to talk.” _

_ Dongyoung spoke softly which Sicheng had not expected, if anyone was going to have this conversation with Sicheng he did not expect it to be a gentle conversation. And yet here he was with Dongyoung having a weirdly calming conversation with him.  _

_ “I know you probably think it’s great to have all of this attention from Taeyong and I’m sure the sex and what not is great but Taeyong has Jaehyun and Jaehyun is my best friend. I would do anything to protect him which is why I have not told him yet. You need to be more careful, Sicheng. Nothing good will come of this.” _

_ And there it was, this is more of what Sicheng had expected to happen and he already knew all of this although it was good that Dongyoung had yet to tell Jaehyun. Before Sicheng could respond to this, Taeyong appeared and immediately walked over to the pair with determination. Sicheng could see that Taeyong was mad and well this was not going to end well at all.  _

_ “Kim Dongyoung, you better not be threatening my Sicheng.” _

_ Taeyong snapped when he got close enough and all Dongyoung did was sigh rather loudly and turn to look at Taeyong with a disbelieving look. Sicheng sensed that Dongyoung knew something that he wasn’t sharing and that scared Sicheng a lot more than he was willing to admit. Maybe Dongyoung was right, nothing good could come from this. Perhaps, it was time to stop living in his dreamland.  _

_ “He’s not yours Tae, remember Jaehyun? Your loyal boyfriend who waits for you every night and you spend every night with this guy.” _

_ Dongyoung said while getting up and making his way out of the room not releasing how much his words affected Sicheng.  _

\---- 

Sicheng made his way down to the living room with speed, he knew something was wrong and he had to stop whatever Kun’s plan was. In the living room, Renjun stood in the way of his line of vision. But as soon as Renjun stepped out of the way, Sicheng was met with the sight of Taeyong on his knees, his hands tied and his face decorated with way too many bruises. Sicheng gasped loudly, pushing everyone out of the way to fall on his knees in front of Taeyong. He gently cupped Taeyong’s face and bit his lip softly, Taeyong blinked slowly and looked up at Sicheng. 

“I knew falling for you was a bad idea Sicheng.”

Taeyong whispered softly, looking up at Sicheng with an expression Sicheng had never seen before. It was so unlike Taeyong to ever be so lost or to give up. Sicheng did not even know he was crying until he felt something wet on his cheek and all he could do was pull Taeyong into his arms, hugging the older male close to him and whispering small apologies. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Ruin My Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! Chapter 4 already!! Hope you're all enjoying these updates! Also wasn't NCT 2020 amazing?! Make A Wish is such an amazing song and From Home just hits me in the feels. Anyways yes update that I hope you all enjoy reading! Again kudos and comments make my day so please do leave some. And I will see you all next week for chapter 5.

“Sicheng get back here.”

Kun said firmly, an unreadable expression on his face while he watched his once loyal second in command give himself completely over to the enemy. It had happened before, Taeyong had once taken Ten from him and now he was watching as Taeyong took his best friend. This was just typical Taeyong behaviour, he always took from everyone as long as it made him happy but where did that leave everyone else? 

“I’m not going to let you hurt him Kun, I can’t let you do that.”

Sicheng spoke so softly that the words just managed to make their way to Kun who frowned, looking around for some sort of support but he found none. Great, so everyone was falling for this show. Taeyong looked up from Sicheng’s shoulder and the look on his face made Kun falter. Maybe Sicheng was right, maybe they should stop doing this. 

“But he’s not the one who’s gonna hurt him, Sicheng, you’re both fools.”

A new voice spoke up, Sicheng froze for a split second before turning around and sure enough there was Jaehyun with a gun pointed right at Sicheng’s head. Taeyong, if it was at all possible, looked even more broken, the realisation that Jaehyun, the man that he had once loved had betrayed him broke him even more. Perhaps it was the realisation that everything he had ever done in his life was suddenly coming back to hit him in the face that finally made Taeyong give up. 

“I guess you know, or you always knew so Jae, it’s not Sicheng you’re mad at. If you want to hurt anyone, it should be me.”   
  


Taeyong whispered softly and all Jaehyun did was laugh loudly, the moment was here, the moment that he could finally tell Taeyong what he had done to him but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to hurt Sicheng more just so Taeyong could finally feel what it felt like to lose the person you loved most in the world. 

“Taeyong you’re so naive! Why would I hurt you when I could hurt Sicheng? You love him right? Then I’m going to show you what you did to me.” 

Before Jaehyun could do anything, Kun pulled him back and shook his head. The plan was to get Taeyong here, there was nothing in the plan that said he could hurt Sicheng and despite the fact that he was mad at Sicheng, he did not want anything bad to happen to him. Sicheng, on the other hand, looked remarkably calm for the situation and he simply undid the rope around Taeyong’s hands, helping him up. 

“I think we all need to sit down and we can talk about this right? No more fighting please.”

Sicheng’s request was rational but there was too much that Taeyong had done to hurt everyone in this room and so Kun gently shook his head. Ten moved to stand next to Kun, giving him a look that nearly made Kun change his mind but one look at Renjun and the rest of the Dreamies stopped him from saying anything. 

“In that case, I’m sorry Kun. But I have to stand up for Taeyong, this may be foolish but I love him and I’d do anything for him.”

Kun nodded at Jaehyun who moved forward along with Jeno and Jaemin, Sicheng stepped in front of Taeyong who looked rather small in that moment. He didn’t even have the strength to stop Sicheng from making a fatal mistake but he did whisper a small, ‘I love you’, back to Sicheng. Suddenly Sicheng was ripped away from Taeyong and based on the arms around his waist, it was Jaehyun of course. Before he could fight against whatever was happening everything went black.

\---- 

_ Jaehyun sat at the opposite side of the table from Taeyong and Sicheng, Dongyoung who was sitting next to him with a painfully fake smile on his face nudged him gently. Jaehyun who had been busy glaring at Sicheng, shook out of his trance and turned his attention to his best friend who gave him the ‘I told you so’ look. But there was not much proof here, so far Taeyong and Sicheng had been rather touchy but nothing screamed that they were sleeping together.  _

_ “Look down.” _

_ Dongyoung hissed under his breath, Jaehyun rolled his eyes, he trusted his boyfriend so why on earth was he actually listening to what Dongyoung was saying? And so he did look down and was met with the sight of his boyfriend’s hand way too high on Sicheng’s thigh and it looked like he was not going to stop there. Jaehyun could not hide the shock on his face, his boyfriend was not only cheating on him but he was also doing it right in front of him. Jaehyun got up way too quickly and suddenly all eyes were on him.  _

_ “I’m going to the bathroom.” _

_ Jaehyun managed to stutter out before practically running towards the bathroom, he pushed the bathroom door open and placed his hands on the sink. He took a quick deep breath and looked at his reflection in the mirror. After everything he had done for Taeyong, he was the best boyfriend anyone could have asked for and here he was trying not to cry in a bathroom. He should have known something was off when Taeyong forgot their anniversary.  _

_ “Don’t think any of this is your fault Jae.” _

_ Dongyoung spoke softly while slowly approaching his best friend, he gently placed a hand onto his shoulder and looked at Jaehyun through the mirror. Jaehyun quickly turned around and buried his face into Dongyoung’s chest, a quiet sob escaping his mouth.  _

_ “I’ll always be here for you Jaehyun, no matter what.” _

_ Dongyoung whispered softly, running a hand through Jaehyun’s hair while holding him tightly against his chest. He could treat Jaehyun so much better, love him more than anything and definitely never hurt him like this. And yet Jaehyun had picked Taeyong and here they were.  _

\----- 

When Sicheng awoke again, he was in a small bedroom that contained only a small bed, a desk and a chair. He walked to the door and tried to pull it open but of course it was locked. Sicheng sighed softly and walked back to the bed, sitting down on the edge. Of course he was now being treated on the same level as Taeyong, he could only imagine what they were actually doing to Taeyong right now and there was absolutely nothing he could do to fix any of this. Before Sicheng could delve deeper into this thought process, the door opened and in came Jaehyun. 

“So glad to see that you’re awake.”

Jaehyun said sarcastically, closing the door behind and making sure that the door was firmly locked. He turned the chair to face Sicheng and then sat down slowly, there was an awkward silence that settled over them before Jaehyun spoke again. 

“I knew the whole time.”

Jaehyun whispered softly, keeping eye contact with Sicheng who did not know what to say in reply. He had no idea that Jaehyun had known the entire time, in fact he thought there was no way that Jaehyun could have known but now he guessed that they were the fools. 

“I should be angry with you right? I should hate you and everything, I did at one point and this morning when I saw you with Taeyong. But it fades and for some reason I can’t seem to blame you. I know what it’s like to fall for him and be the center of his attention, it’s hypnotising.”

Jaehyun continued talking since he got the idea that Sicheng didn’t really have anything to add. Sicheng broke eye contact and looked down at his hands, he knew deep down that this moment was long overdue and yet he had never mentally prepared himself for this. 

“I’m sorry that Taeyong cheated on you, I am sorry that I fell in love with him when I did and we started a, hmm, relationship when he already had you but I cannot lie and say that I’m sorry that I love him and he loves me, we just met at the wrong time.”

Sicheng eventually spoke up, when he finished Jaehyun sighed and stood up making his way over to Sicheng who looked up and this time instead of looking apologetic, he stood his stance and waited for Jaehyun to back down. Jaehyun eventually turned away and walked back to the door. 

“Can’t see why he fell for you, you’re nothing more than a beautiful slut. Does Taeyong know how many people you’ve spread your legs for? Taeyong can’t be that special then, if he’s just one of many.”

Jaehyun snapped and there it was, he realised just how not over Taeyong he actually was and Sicheng was the reason why it had all ended. While he knew that it could be easy to forgive Sicheng, he just was not ready yet. While Jaehyun knew what he had just said was out of line, based on what he knew of Sicheng’s past and the look on Sichengs face right now, he couldn’t bring himself to take it back and so he left the room. 

\---- 

_ “They must think I am stupid right?” _

_ Jaehyun said to Dongyoung one night after Taeyong and Sicheng had snuck out of the party, Dongyoung turned to look at Jaehyun before nodding. It was probably true that Taeyong especially thought that Jaehyun was stupid, they weren’t exactly being careful anymore and honestly Dongyoung was so close to hitting Taeyong.  _

_ “Why don’t you just confront them? Then we could end this stupid mess.” _

_ Dongyoung asked curiously, he hadn’t asked this question before but he had no idea why Jaehyun thought it would be fun to drag this out for as long as humanly possible. It was torture to watch and honestly he just wanted Jaehyun to be happy, this would not be achieved if Jaehyun kept going around in circles with Taeyong.  _

_ “I want to see if he’ll come to me but looks like I’ll be waiting forever. He’s never going to tell me.” _

_ Jaehyun sighed, he knew it was about time that he confronted the pair but he really did want to see just how long Taeyong could keep this up before telling Jaehyun the truth. He was sick of Taeyong sneaking back into their shared room in the morning, smelling of Sicheng and the marks on his neck let everyone know that Taeyong no longer belonged to Jaehyun.  _

_ “Jae, come on. You deserve better than this.” _

_ Jaehyun rolled his eyes, he knew exactly what Dongyoung meant with that comment and he really was not in the mood to hear that he deserved better all the while knowing that Dongyoung meant himself. He had known for a long time that Dongyoung had a crush on him but he had never confronted him about it.  _

_ “And what makes you think that you’re the better option? You may have a crush on me but it did take you 2 months to tell me that my boyfriend is cheating on me.” _

_ Jaehyun commented while downing the drink in his hand, the look on Dongyoung’s face was priceless, it was something between shock and embarrassment. But the drink would not let Jaehyun care that he had just hurt his best friend and so he placed the cup down and walked out of the room in hopes that he could find a distraction somewhere else. Surely he could find someone to go home with.  _

\-----

Sicheng woke up the next morning with a pounding headache after only around an hour of sleep, he could not stop thinking about everything that had happened over the past few months and just how much he had changed for Taeyong. He was no longer the guy that Kun had found on the street bleeding and alone, Kun may have saved him but Taeyong had shown him what it meant to feel alive. The door opened, which Sicheng assumed meant that breakfast had arrived but what was incredibly unexpected was Taeyong walking into the room free and unharmed. This time the door was left open and Taeyong simply walked over to Sicheng and knelt down in front of him. 

“I had to do this my angel, I had to save you even if that meant the worst for me so baby please don’t be sad when I’m gone. You deserve so much more than this.”

Taeyong whispered softly before leaning closer and placing the softest of kisses on Sicheng’s lips. There was a small moment of silence as Sicheng tried to understand just what Taeyong was saying. Unfortunately the silence was too long as Jaehyun walked into the room, guided Taeyong out and that was the last time Sicheng saw Taeyong alive. 

  
  
  
  



	5. If You're Over Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the really late update! I had such a busy week last week! This is a bit of a shorter chapter, a bit of extra detail from the chapter before. Chapter six will also be out soon!! And then we will be back to weekly updates every Monday. Comments and kudos are always appreciated.

Jaehyun paused when he reached Taeyong’s door, he held in his hand the one letter that contained everything he had ever wanted to say to Taeyong. All of these feelings and thoughts he had been holding back over the past few months, everything he wished that he could say to Taeyong but he knew he couldn’t. There was just too much to say and too little time. And so Jaehyun pushed the door open and walked inside. He had time to say a few things to Taeyong and by god he was not going to miss this opportunity. 

“I was wondering how long it would take you to come and see me.”

Taeyong spoke slowly, it was like for the first time he was actually thinking about what he said and not just doing whatever he wanted. Jaehyun paused, he definitely needed this moment of closure but at the same time it didn’t seem right to confront Taeyong when he was like this. He had never seen the older male look so lost, so broken and so defeated. 

“I’m not here to see you, I’m here to properly end this relationship we have. I need closure and I need to move on, you did ages ago and I never had that opportunity. I stayed loyal that’s why.”

Taeyong rolled his eyes, he had expected Jaehyun to be this petty but he supposed he did have a point. It wasn’t like Taeyong ever wanted to hurt Jaehyun, he just fell out of love with him and instead of ending things he started a new relationship with Sicheng. It wasn’t like he never knew that what he was doing was wrong, it just always felt so right and he had never felt something like that with Jaehyun. 

“Jaehyun, I am sorry for hurting you. I should have ended things a long time ago but I didn’t and for that I am sorry. But do we really have to do this? Is there a point to all of this? You want to move on then leave, talking isn’t going to fix what I did.”

Taeyong spoke after a moment of silence, he tried to move to get more comfortable but the handcuffs were not doing wonders for that. Jaehyun sighed and looked down at the envelope in his hands before gently placing it in Taeyong’s lap, he then uncuffed Taeyong and walked back to the door. 

“I’ll be back in an hour to take you to the docks, it’s time to end this. You have an hour to prepare and well I hope you read the letter. I’ll even let you say goodbye to Sicheng before we leave.”

Jaehyun couldn’t look at Taeyong after that, he hated what Taeyong had done to him but he still loved Taeyong. It hurt him thinking that he was only an hour away from losing Taeyong forever and that brought a lump to his throat. 

“Thank you….”

Taeyong whispered as Jaehyun left the room, Jaehyun just caught and suddenly he felt a tear roll down his face. He ran out of the room and into the closest bathroom where he broke down and cried for the first time in weeks. 

\---- 

_ Dear Taeyong,  _

_ I feel kind of stupid writing this letter, I don’t even know if you’ll ever read this or if I will ever give this to you. Dongyoung told me that writing down how I feel should help but honestly I don’t know if it’s working. Somehow I can’t keep my hand from shaking and I am trying but the more I think about you, the angrier I get. You let me down, you let me go and I wasn’t ready for that.  _

_ Do you remember our first date? You told me that night that you couldn’t see yourself with anyone else ever. I believed you then, I believed you over everyone else when they told me that you had someone new and I made myself look like a complete fool. I chose to ignore the obvious, I chose to stick by your side and defend you when you were off with another man. And yet you didn’t even have the decency to hide your affair, you gloated and showed it off. Did you really just stop caring about me?  _

_ I tried, I really did, I tried to be better, I tried to make you stay and make you happy. I should have known from the start that it was going to end like this, they all told me not to get involved with you. I didn’t even know that when we started dating that you still hadn’t broken up with Ten. I had to hear that from Ten and yet somehow I believed you would never do that to me. I believed that I was different and I could make you stay loyal. I don’t even think you know what the word loyal even means. I don’t think you care. I hope Sicheng won’t be another one of your victims. I hope he never knows what it feels like to fall in love with you, to be with you through everything and do anything for you, only for it to be all thrown into the trash. You took my heart and broke it into a million pieces.  _

_ Do you know what is worse? I let you treat me like shit for months and months, I was just a guard dog to you, a tool that you used to your advantage. You never loved me Taeyong, not in the way that I did. All you ever did was belittle me, the words that you said as a joke hit me like tiny pieces of glass and yet I stayed by your side. Calling me your pretty little slut in front of everyone just so everyone knew that you had all of the control, making me run around town doing jobs for you, pushing me away from Dongyoung because you knew he could treat me better. It was all just a game to you.  _

_ And yet I do not hate you, I hate what you did to me and to Ten. I hate that I didn’t have the courage to say all of this to your face or leave you months ago. Taeyong, please if you’re going to stay with Sicheng, treat him better than you have ever treated me or Ten. Sicheng doesn’t deserve this.  _

_ Forever trying to forget you _

_ Jaehyun  _

\---- 

Taeyong placed the letter back onto his lap, he could feel the tears running down his face and yet he felt like he didn’t deserve to be the one crying. He had pushed his best friend to the edge, promised him a future and safety and all he had done was break him into tiny pieces. Just like he had done with Ten all those years before. Jaehyun was right, he never treated anyone the way that he should, he had loved Jaehyun at one point but he had never made it seem like that. Taeyong just hoped that Sicheng felt loved, he couldn’t leave without letting Sicheng know just how much he means to him. He could never live with that. 

Suddenly a knock at the door broke him out of his thoughts, he croakily said a quick come in while trying to hide the fact that he had been crying. Jaehyun saw right through this and simply just picked up the letter and placed it in the bin. He looked at Taeyong before looking back at the door, there were no words needed anymore and Taeyong simply walked through the door with Jaehyun right behind him. 

“Stop here.”

Jaehyun said when they reached a door at the other end of the corridor and so Taeyong stopped. Jaehyun opened the door, he told Taeyong to go inside and there sat Sicheng. Taeyong didn’t even remember what he said to Sicheng, he felt rushed but he needed to keep the image of Sicheng imprinted on his mind. He needed to kiss him one last time before leaving. And as Taeyong turned to leave with Jaehyun, he took one look back at the man who held his heart and tried to smile. This would be the last time that Taeyong would get to see that beautiful smile and he needed to keep it close to him. 

\----

They arrived at the docks after an awkwardly long ride in complete silence, Jaehyun let Taeyong exit the vehicle first and pushed him in the direction of Kun and Renjun. The cuffs were back which rubbed the wrong way as he walked but Taeyong figured that he wouldn’t have to deal with that problem for much longer. 

“Lee Taeyong, I do hope Jaehyun let you know that you are here to die.”

Taeyong nodded, Jaehyun had never said those exact words but he had figured as much so he wasn’t going to get Jaehyun in trouble. He held up his cuffed hands, stating that if he had to die, he would at least like to die with his hands free. It seemed like Jaehyun agreed and so the cuffs were taking off. He stared at Kun while he pulled out a gun and aimed it directly at Taeyong’s forehead. Taeyong was not about to start showing that he was terrified, he would stand here and remain calm. Everything would work out in the end. 

“NOOOO!!!”

A voice called out from the darkness that had enveloped them, Taeyong was about to turn around to find Sicheng when the gunshot rang out and he fell backwards. He was expecting darkness, pain and most of all he was expecting to be dead. All he felt was a pinch in his neck and then everything went dark. 


	6. Missed Your Mark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look whose getting better with timings!! A quick update this week before we move on with the storyline! Hopefully you are all still enjoying this! Kudos and comments always welcome.

_ Months before _

Donghyuck had always liked Mark, to begin with it was nothing more than friendship but the closer that he got to the older male the more that he realised that his feelings for Mark were much more than that. He tried to love Renjun, he really did and it should not have been hard because Renjun really loved him. Donghyuck couldn’t help but follow Mark wherever he went and that was why it had not been hard for Taeyong to convince him to join 127 and leave Dream behind. He had hated the look on Renjun’s face that day, he hated how much pain he had brought but he just couldn’t have stayed there. Donghyuck simply did not want to miss his chance to be with Mark. Little did he know that he was making the biggest mistake of his life, sometimes love can be so blinding that you can no longer see the obvious. 

It all started when Donghyuck saw the look on Mark’s face when he arrived back at the 127 house with Taeyong. He had expected some sort of happiness, they had been friends before Mark had left and so he thought that Mark would be elated when he saw Donghyuck for the first time in a year. Instead Mark looked horrified, as if this was somehow the worst news that he had received and when he managed to compose himself, the look of horror changed to one of shock. It wasn’t really getting better. 

“Long time no see?”

Donghyuck attempted when the group had dispersed, leaving Mark alone with Donghyuck. Mark looked as if he was struggling for words, he attempted a smile and a rather awkward hug but it was like none of the moments they had spent together in the past even mattered anymore. Donghyuck didn’t know what to do with this information and so he plastered on a fake smile. 

“Yeah...Hyuck you shouldn’t be here.”

Mark eventually responded with words that Donghyuck couldn’t quite understand, why was he not supposed to be there, surely he was allowed to be wherever he wanted to be and it just so happened that he wanted to be with Mark. Yet, somehow it didn’t even click then that Mark didn’t want him in the same way that Donghyuck wanted him.

“Well I want to be here so I am.”

Donghyuck said rather defiantly and all Mark did was sigh, he shook his head and then turned around to leave. He stopped for a moment and for a brief second Donghyuck saw a flicker of what Mark used to be before he left. 

There were several more moments like that and yet Donghyuck kept pushing toward an unrealistic goal. He liked the little delusion that he lived and so he wasn’t anywhere near ready to leave. The more that he kept pushing, the more that Mark moved away from him. There was no hint that he ever wanted to be more than friends and Donghyuck just couldn’t take that right now. He did not want his heart to break even though if he was being honest, his heart had broken months ago. 

“Mark I have something I need to tell you.”

Donghyuck approached Mark one night, with much more confidence due to the amount of alcohol in his body and yet he had not noticed the one key thing. Mark bit his lip, looked in the direction of Yuta before nodding and gently pulling Donghyuck out of the room. Donghyuck followed Mark out of the room, down a very long corridor before they reached a small room at the end. Turns out this was Yuta’s office, which wasn’t important to Donghyuck at that moment until later. He didn’t even notice the amount of photos of Mark, there was a particular photo that should have been important but Donghyuck didn’t even give it more than a quick look. 

“Hyuck I feel like there’s something more important that I need to tell you before you say anything.”

Mark spoke softly, he hadn’t spoken to Donghyuck like this for weeks, the change in tone alerted Donghyuck and he had no idea what to say in response. He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something but Mark shushed him while he took a seat, he patted the space next to him and Donghyuck sat down slowly.

“I know you like me, I always knew I think, I just never asked you about it because I knew I would end up hurting you. Hyuck, it’s not that I’m not happy you are here but I have not been truthful with you ever. I’m already dating someone, he’s the reason why I left Dream and why I ended up here. Renjun knew the truth but he loved you too much and I guess he never wanted to hurt you.”

Mark paused and turned to look at Donghyuck, the younger male seemed to be having a hard time processing all of this information. It took a moment for Donghyuck’s facial expression to change and suddenly he whispered an ‘oh’ before dropping his head. Mark gently pulled Donghyuck closer and for the first time in months Mark hugged Donghyuck just as tightly as he used to. 

“Hyuck you are one of my best friends, I never wanted to lose that. You still mean so much to me and I know you’ll find someone that will love you unconditionally.”

Mark added after a moment of silence, he gently ran a hand through Donghyuck’s hair humming as he went. Donghyuck didn’t trust himself to say anything and so he remained silent for a long period of time, that was when the photograph caught his eye again. 

“I always wondered why Yuta spent too much time visiting us.”

Donghyuck said quietly but jokingly, Mark let out a small laugh and that was all the confirmation that Donghyuck needed. He had really miscalculated everything and now he just wondered how he had missed it all. It had been right in front of his face and yet he had ignored it all because he always had so much hope. 

“Everything alright in here?”

A voice joined them in the darkness and suddenly the lights were turned on, the light flooded into the room quickly and Donghyuck closed his eyes tightly, burying his face into Mark’s shoulder. Mark smiled softly, nodding when Yuta walked across the room to join them and accepted the small kiss from Yuta. It felt nice for Mark that he didn’t have to hide anything anymore, he had told everyone who was important to him and he had gained his best friend back. 

“He knows everything now, and we’re good so nothing to worry about.”

Mark replied softly while pulling a seat out for Yuta, he wanted his boyfriend and his best friend to get along and so he hoped that he could use this moment to introduce them to each other. Yuta sat down slowly, he seemed rather cautious while Donghyuck for the first time seemed to be kinda shy. The pair looked at each other and nodded. 

“Hyuck this is Yuta, my boyfriend. Yuta, this is Hyuck my best friend. I know you’ve met before but not like this so yeah.”

Both Donghyuck and Yuta laughed at this, they both knew Mark really well and we’re not surprised by how awkward Mark could be even with someone he knew really well. Mark was beginning to think this was the worst idea that he had ever had. 

\---

From then on, Donghyuck felt more free. He had finally let go of something that had been holding him back and he could focus on himself more. Donghyuck threw himself into work, spent more time taking care of himself and managed to make more friends. He didn’t realise how much time liking Mark had taken up. He now had time to actually get to know the rest of 127 and especially Jaehyun. Jaehyun was a bit of an enigma, the boyfriend of the leader who was cheating on him and yet Jaehyun never did anything about it. It was like he was playing some sort of long game that absolutely no one understood. But Jaehyun was fun to hang out with and he really did not mind when Donghyuck came to hug him all night. He supposed that the both of them really needed the company. 

“Hyuck, come here.”

Jaehyun whispered softly when Donghyuck entered Jaehyun and Taeyong’s room, Donghyuck happily skipped over to Jaehyun and plopped down into Jaehyun’s lap. Jaehyun happily wrapped his arms around Donghyuck, burying his head into his shoulder before pulling back to brush a hair out of Donghyuck’s face. 

“What have you been up to, baby?”

Jaehyun asked softly, this was a rather new development, it seemed to be the less time that Taeyong spent with Jaehyun the more affection and pet names were thrown his way from Jaehyun. He was beginning to get the feeling that Jaehyun was just using him for affection when he felt lonely but if he was being honest Donghyuck needed it. 

“Not much hyung, me and Markie went for dinner but he needed to get back to Yuta hyung.”

Donghyuck didn’t even realise that he was pouting until he felt Jaehyun’s lips on his and then everything that Donghyuck had ever believed in suddenly went out of the window. He let Jaehyun do whatever he wanted to do to him and he didn’t even care it was wrong until he woke up the next morning next to Jaehyun with Taeyong standing over him. 

“I don’t even care right now that you slept with my boyfriend clearly, I mean that would make me a hypocrite but please do get out of my room.”

Donghyuck climbed out of bed, collecting his clothes and once dressed he ran out of the room and he would have gone back to his own room but he really needed a friend at that moment. Donghyuck knocked softly on Mark’s door and was not surprised when Yuta opened the door. Yuta took one look at Donghyuck and opened the door wider with a promise that he would go and wake Mark up. Two minutes later, Mark was awake and rubbing at his eyes. He looked at Donghyuck before lifting up the duvet and letting Donghyuck climb into bed next to him. Yuta pressed a kiss to Mark’s head before leaving the two friends alone. 

“I slept with Jaehyun, Mark.”

Donghyuck whispered softly, Mark sighed softly and hugged him a little tighter as he cried softly into Mark’s chest. He couldn’t even explain why he was so upset, the night had been amazing but he didn’t think he would turn into one of those guys that slept with people who weren’t single. 

“Have you spoken to Jaehyun hyung this morning? Do you want to talk to him?”

Donghyuck thought about it for one moment before shaking his head, he really couldn’t face Jaehyun right now. There was no use falling for someone that was already taken, he had been there before and he really did not need to go there again. Of course, he was not falling for Jaehyun. No, no. 

“You like Jaehyun right? Oh Hyuckie.”

Donghyuck nodded and sighed loudly, there was no use in pretending anymore, Mark could already tell and he had no idea what to say to make this any better for Donghyuck. He probably should have been more careful when advising Donghyuck on friend choices, Donghyuck should have been able to avoid that all together. 

“I know Jaehyun is obviously dating Taeyong but if you like him then I think you need to talk to him. Closure can always be a good thing but just remember you are worth more than just a rebound.”

Mark spoke ever so softly, trying to be as comforting as humanly possible but really he had no idea what would make this easier. Donghyuck seemed to understand though and half an hour later he set off on his quest to have a conversation with Jaehyun. This was easier said than done as it seemed that Taeyong wasn’t that fond of Jaehyun sleeping with someone else even though he had Sicheng. Taeyong was hellbent on keeping a closer eye on Jaehyun and everytime that Jaehyun got anywhere near Donghyuck, Taeyong would show up out of the blue. 

“Jaehyun hyung….”

Donghyuck trailed off, he half expected that Jaehyun would just leave with Taeyong like he always did but for some reason unknown, Jaehyun turned around and walked back to Donghyuck. He took Donghyuck’s hand in his before whispering, “Meet me next to the swimming pool tonight at midnight, we’ll talk then Hyuckie.” and then he left with Taeyong. 

When midnight finally arrived, Donghyuck was alone by the entrance to the swimming pool, of course Jaehyun wasn’t early or on time. He figured that Taeyong was probably still acting like a leech or Taeyong was with Sicheng after abandoning the poor boy for days on end. Jaehyun appeared out of the darkness minutes later, he offered a small smile to Donghyuck while unlocking the doors to the swimming pool. 

“We’re not going swimming don’t worry baby, just thought the water may be calming and provides a neutral place to talk.”

Jaehyun explained when he saw the look on Donghyuck’s face, he pushed the doors open and waited for Donghyuck to enter before following him. They both sat on the edge of the swimming pool, Donghyuck choosing to place his legs into the pool while Jaehyun opted for sitting cross legged next to him. 

“I’ve never liked anyone except Taeyong before and I will admit that I used you for a while, you came to me so easily and I needed someone to distract me from Taeyong and Sicheng. But then I began to miss you when you were gone, I craved more than hugs from you and last night just proved that you, Lee Donghyuck, are driving me crazy. I don’t know what I feel for you, I can’t put it into words and I have to deal with Taeyong and all of that but would you give me time to figure this out?”

Jaehyun said slowly, he fiddled with the edges of his sleeves while speaking and Donghyuck could tell that he was telling the truth. Why else would he be this nervous? But could he really afford to be waiting for someone who may never be available for him. Was Jaehyun really worth it? This could be the worst decision that he ever made and yet Donghyuck leaned closer to Jaehyun, placing a kiss on his cheek and whispering a quick, 

“I’ll wait for you.”

\-----

_ Hours Before _

“You know Jaehyun, you can’t make me feel like shit! I know about you and Donghyuck! You cheated on me too!”

Taeyong shouted when Jaehyun made his way out of the room that they were holding him in, he remembered the night that he had caught Donghyuck in bed with his boyfriend and he remembered just how shit it had made him feel. He knew it was a bit hypocritical of him but Jaehyun couldn’t play the victim here. 

“I slept with Donghyuck once Taeyong and for weeks I felt so bad about it, I even stopped seeing him. I made the poor boy wait for me even though I was still chasing you. I love him which is stupid to say now but I never started a relationship with him while I was with you. I am sorry that I had sex with him that one night while we were together but that was it.”

Jaehyun explained slowly when he turned around to look at Taeyong again, yes he had made a mistake too but he had stopped after that one night. In fact, Jaehyun had effectively pushed Donghyuck away from him. He wasn’t even sure if the younger male even wanted to be with him anymore, they hadn’t spoken in weeks. 

“I’m just saying, we both should have ended this weeks ago, I love Sicheng and you obviously have something with Donghyuck, you should probably talk to the guy. We both made mistakes.”

Jaehyun simply sighed and shook his head, he looked at Taeyong before leaving the room. Once he was alone, he pulled his phone out and dialled the first number on his favourites. Donghyuck answered after the first ring,

“Jaehyun hyung…...you finally called.”

Jaehyun couldn’t help but chuckle before whispering an apology. There was a lot to fix but they could do it. He would work on being better if it was for Donghyuck. 

  
  
  



End file.
